Free Marlowe and the Spacewoman by Ian M. Dudley

halls, stairs, and into dimly lit elevators.  Until they reached the theater.  The operating theater.  All the way there, Obedere had walked alongside him, a spring of anticipation in his step and a grin of gleeful mirth splashed across his face.  When they arrived at the theater, Obedere slipped off, chuckling, as the medical techs strapped Marlowe to a gurney, legs together, arms spread apart.  
    Technicians gowned in black smocks with black face masks and caps covering most of their heads crowded over him like a gaggle of grim reaper interns.  They remained silent, only their eyes visible, none looking directly at Marlowe.  And then, for a moment, he was alone, naked and cold but too spent to shiver, the icy metal steadily sucking the heat out of his body.  Obedere reappeared above him, taking a seat in the observation lounge and languidly watching the detective through the glass ceiling.
    “Are you comfortable, Gervase?”
    Marlowe had still been Gervase Fen at that point.
    “You are about to become part of a most important project.  I want you to know this so you won’t feel your suffering is in vain.  Don’t worry, no questions.  No more questions.  We don’t need your answers any more.  We know all we need to know about that particular crime.  A convincing confession with the appropriate details has been manufactured despite your lack of…cooperation.  So concern yourself no more on that particular matter.  Besides, this is much more important.  What you are about to embark upon is a scientific endeavor.  A pet project of mine.  You will help us determine nothing less than the biological origins of sedition!”
    Marlowe hadn’t fathomed exactly what was coming next.  He remembered the innocent confusion those words had sparked, the hope that maybe he wouldn’t die.
    “After this latest attempt on the Governor’s life, he has authorized a study I have been advocating for years.  We are taking a sampling of the criminals guilty of sedition and treason, and studying and comparing them to see if there are any physical or genetic commonalities.  Imagine, if we could find that!  We could selectively breed out all rebellion and civic mischief, or design a retro-virus that removes the offending genetics from the human genome.  Peace, tranquility, and obedience, now and forever!
    “Now I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, planning exactly what to look for and how to get it.  Alas, you will be the first participant of the study, so we may take a misstep here or there as we fine-tune the methodology.  But rest assured, your participation will only pave the way for future members of the study to have a…smoother experience.”
    Icy fear had begun to seep into Marlowe as he listened, but it was nothing compared to the plummet into abject, helpless terror that the next words brought.
    “We will be taking blood and tissue samples.  We will be removing organs for study.  We will dissect your brain to look for abnormalities.  We will begin now.”
    Bright lights temporarily blinded Marlowe and the dark silhouettes of surgeons crowded over him.
    “We’ve decided, in the initial draft of the protocol, that sedatives and anesthetics may cloud the results.  I hope you don’t mind.”
    Something cold and smooth was placed against his abdomen.  A shock jolted through him, not entirely painful, but certainly not pleasant.
    “And we can’t have your nano probes interfering, trying to undo our work.  That would only slow things down.  The shock you just received has neutralized them.  Gervase, though you may not enjoy this, remember that science and future generations salute you.”
    After awhile, they tired of his screams and piercing shrieks, so they gagged him.  Then all Marlowe could do was whimper.  And with his head strapped in place, all he see was Obedere’s shadowy form above him, a cherubic angel of death.
    He didn’t remember much of the rest.  Subsequent therapy had